Henry Kuntz has been experimenting with sonic diversification for
several decades, having established himself as an early explorer of
tonal uniqueness in the 1970s. He and Ben Lindgren, Brian Godchaux,
Esten Lindgren, and John Kuntz form the quintet called Opeye, an improvising
collective playing spontaneously created music using a myriad of ancient
and modern day instruments. Freely spun passages played on Asian,
Oceanian, and South American reeds and strings are wedded with the
music from traditional Western instruments on a recording with kaleidoscopic
originality and ever-changing textures. Nepal, Bolivia, Bali, China,
Mexico, Java, and Hawaii are the origin of many of their exotic instruments,
all of which blend in joyous harmony with the tenor, violin, bass
and other more recognizable music makers. The combinations of instruments
seem endless as they produce music that has a discernible flow to
support the atonality that abounds.

The five musicians play as a quintet on seven selections, and they
splinter into smaller configurations on the other five tunes. They
offer an intriguing assemblage of songs that bursts into many vivid
colors through the sonic variations emanating from their plethora
of instruments. Although the reeds of Henry Kuntz and the brass from
Esten Lindgren play a dominant role, the artists frequently merge
into all-string ensembles of varying size. They group the violin,
bass, mandolin, guitar, ukulele, and viola or any combination thereof
and adeptly intersperse these into the program. The percussion side
is not ignored either. Several native varieties of the gamelan and
other percussion tools set the arrhythmic pace. Alluring music continually
mushrooms from Opeye, as when Esten Lindgren plays in staccato fashion
on trombone while the gamelan players ring the music with a wealth
of chime accents, or when Henry Kuntz ekes out spatial reed segments
while the others flood the air with string majesty.

Henry Kuntz refers to the music of Opeye as "Avant-Shamanic Trance
Jazz". It indeed has mystical qualities to go along with its more
outgoing and eruptive nature, and Opeye does indeed have the sorcerer's
capabilities for enchanting the listener while simultaneously challenging
him or her with seductive interplay. They take you on an adventure
of the mind and spirit and expose you to the beauty inherent in the
world's cultures. It is highly creative music that is also easily
absorbed by those willing to journey with them.